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Page 445
Had Ian's business taken as long as he expected, he would have done just what Alinor predicted. However, by the time he arrived at the seat of the dispute, he found matters settled very happily by a marriage instead of a war. There was no more for him to do than dance at the wedding and gift the families with the marriage fine as a hint to his vassals in general that he preferred weddings to wars. In fact, everyone seemed to be abnormally content and peaceful. Ian was reduced to cursing his vassals for their good behavior as vigorously as he usually cursed them for their constant bickering.
Not that Ian took any pleasure in seeing the land ravaged by war, but he could not bring himself to face Alinor again so soon. After a few weeks of separation or of being together, the pain dulled. When together, they sank into a polite, formal relationship in which they could discuss business matters pleasantly and even with enjoyment. The only difficulty was that they still slept together. Ian both hoped and feared that Alinor would tell him to move to another chamber. Many times he vowed he would initiate the move himself and take another woman to his bed, but there was no woman he wanted when Alinor was there. So he lay with her, and cursed himself when she pretended so ignorantly or responded and then wept hysterically, creeping out of the bed when she thought he was asleep, so that he would not offend her further by offering comfort.
It was with the bitterness of such a meeting in his mouth that Ian had ridden hastily north, accompanied by only a small troop. His troops lay in seige under Sir Robert de Remy's control around the last of the castles held by a rebellious castellan. The first had fallen quickly; the second had yielded without a fight. This keep, which, like Roselynde, fronted on the sea, was the best supplied, the hardest to take, and was ruled by the most stubborn castellan. Ian suspected that the man was receiving supplies, men and encouragement from "some-

 
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